World War II: Impossible Choices and Deeds That Changed History
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4.6 • 7 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The lives of five generations, including yours, are indelibly marked by the deeds of those who fought in the Second World War. Join award-winning historian Michael Bess in exploring their stories.
In 24 engaging lectures, WWII historian and celebrated Vanderbilt professor Michael Bess introduces you to the men and women who faced some of history’s toughest choices. You will meet the man who stopped Hitler’s atomic bomb, the pilots who won the Battle of Midway, the Soviet “Man of Steel,” the pacifist who built the bomb, and many more.
World War II was the quintessential “good war.” But it was not free of moral ambiguity, painful dilemmas, and unavoidable compromises. How could ordinary citizens have brought themselves to perpetrate atrocities? Was the United States justified in dropping the atomic bomb? Why didn’t the Allied Powers do more to help the Jews of Europe escape persecution before the war?
Professor Michael Bess marshals a trove of research and letters to probe big questions like these. While honoring the war’s countless heroic deeds, and expressing deep gratitude to those who sacrificed so much for the freedom of subsequent generations, he also seeks a nuanced reckoning with the complicated and ambiguous moral dimensions of one of the most pivotal conflicts in human history.
We owe it to every generation impacted by the Second World War to understand the momentous choices and deeds that shaped our world.
This course is part of the Learn25 collection.
Customer Reviews
Great Course for Deep Thinkers
This course by Vanderbilt professor Michael Bess is phenomenal. Bess goes beyond the names and dates we are all familiar with, and seeks to understand the psychology and motives driving each side in WW2. Some of the questions he raises are fascinating; for instance, I didn’t realize that Leo Szilard (one of the physicists who laid the groundwork for the atomic bomb) was also an avowed pacifist. Bess shows how war puts people in tricky moral situations like this through the course.
Along the way, Bess shares some incredible stories about WW2. One example: an early lecture covers a daring raid by Allied paragliders who sneak into a German nuclear plant in order to prevent Hitler from getting the atomic bomb. It sounds like a James Bond script, but is a true story!
Outstanding history
This is an audio history lecture course presented by a Vanderbilt history professor who clearly knows his subject and loves teaching it. I like the that professor Bess is able to dive into the really big, tough questions of history. He makes one think about the real-life moral decisions that shaped our world. He’s also a great storyteller. For example, he can make the battle of midway come alive again. Highly recommend for the thoughtful listener who wants to understand wwii at a deeper level. Very interesting.
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